This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.
Clips and fasteners can be used to retain trim panels and other components (e.g., exterior moldings, mirrors, instrument panels, etc.) relative to a body portion of an automobile or other vehicle. Known fasteners are designed for a specific application. In this regard, known fasteners are often designed for a vehicle body portion having a certain or predetermined thickness. Accordingly, as the thickness of a body panel varies from one vehicle to another vehicle, different fasteners must be specifically designed and manufactured in order to accommodate different thicknesses.
Known fasteners are also designed to be coupled to a rib on the trim panel. In this regard, known fasteners often include a retention feature (e.g., a barb) that engages the rib to secure the fastener to the trim panel. It may be possible to mount known fasteners on the rib in either a proper orientation or an improper or backward orientation, resulting in the fastener sometimes being improperly mounted on the rib. In addition, it can be difficult to determine whether a known fastener is correctly and fully seated on the rib such that the fastener is sometimes pushed too far, or not far enough, onto the rib.
It would be desirable to provide a fastener that can be used with a body panel having a first thickness, and also be used with another body panel having a second thickness that is greater or less than the first thickness. It would also be desirable to provide a fastener and a rib on a trim panel or other component that can provide for secure and robust engagement between the fastener and the rib, and that allows the user to ensure accurate and complete assembly between the fastener and the rib.